Army claims he’s out of Rodriguez camp

Thursday

Jul 4, 2013 at 6:00 AM

By Bud Barth TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Larry Army Jr., who has been Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez’s manager since the Worcester super middleweight turned pro in 2008, says he doesn’t expect to be retained after the 27-year-old title contender’s million-dollar fight a week from Saturday in Monte Carlo.

There’s also some question about whether Army even represents Rodriguez any longer, and whether the Grafton lawyer will get his usual share of the purse for the July 13 final of the Monte Carlo Million Dollar Super Four tournament.

“This is definitely, without question, my last fight with Edwin Rodriguez,” Army said on Wednesday. “It’s gotten to a point where it’s beyond repair.”

The issue appears to be money, Army said, but he has been given no reason. All he was told was that the July 13 bout would be his last, he said.

“There was absolutely no reason given to me for their change in direction,” said Army, who said he hasn’t spoken to Rodriguez since his last fight on March 30, although they have texted back and forth. “I’m stunned.”

Rodriguez (23-0-0, 15 knockouts) wasn’t available, but his wife, Stephanie Rodriguez, said they would have no comment.

When asked if Army was still Rodriguez’s manager, she also declined comment, later adding: “That’s one of the things that we’re trying to figure out.”

Army said he was contacted Wednesday night by the Rodriguez camp’s lawyer, who confirmed that they will oppose his fee for the July 13 fight. The lawyer didn’t say whether they were opposed to the percentage or simply any fee.

Army, whose original four-year contract expired, said he entered into a two-fight deal with Rodriguez at the same terms before the Monte Carlo tournament. He said it covers the semifinal, which Rodriguez won by unanimous decision in March over Ezequiel Maderna, and the upcoming 10-round final against Denis Grachev (13-1-1, 8 KOs).

The winner gets $600,000, the loser $400,000. Army normally gets 30 percent of the purse, an agreement he worked out with Rodriguez in their original four-year contract in 2008. That’s on the high side for a manager, but Army said it was partly because he paid Rodriguez a weekly salary out of his own pocket during the first few years so the two-time national amateur champion wouldn’t have to work while training.

Rodriguez and his wife have special-needs twins, now 6, who were born three months prematurely, and an 11-week-old son, Evan. They own a home in Worcester.

“At this time,” Stephanie Rodriguez said on Wednesday, “Edwin is focused on the fight on July 13, and any purported issues between Larry and Edwin, in Edwin’s opinion, will be worked out in private. We’re not looking to badmouth anybody or tarnish anybody’s reputation, and we’re opting to try and figure this out without doing it publicly in the interest of protecting everybody’s reputation.”

Having not spoken to his fighter in more than three months will make things awkward, Army agreed, but he vowed to do everything he can to help Rodriguez win the $600,000 purse a week from Saturday.

“My job is to make sure that if there’s anything that comes up in Monaco … that I’m there to protect this kid, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Army said. “It may be awkward, but I have a job to do, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to make sure that Edwin Rodriguez is in the best position to win this next fight.”

Army’s original four-year contract with Rodriguez expired in April 2012, but Army said it was extended for two reasons.

First, Army said, there was a one-year extension option if Rodriguez was offered a world title fight or a title eliminator, and he was offered the latter by the IBF, although that bout with Adonis Stevenson was turned down.

Also, Army said, the deal was automatically extended because of the time that Rodriguez spent recuperating from 2009 surgery on both elbows, which doesn’t count against the length of the contract.

Army said he suspects that the Rodriguez camp doesn’t want him to take 30 percent of what will be the fighter’s largest purse as a pro — either $600,000 or $400,000. But Army said he’ll get what’s due him even if he has to go to court.

“For some reason, this has soured very quickly,” Army said, adding that shouldn’t happen “when you take him from obscurity to near a world championship and make him a millionaire.”

Rodriguez, a Dominican native who came to Worcester in 1998, began boxing at the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester under coach Carlos Garcia, who advised him in 2007 to sign with Army, which he did in 2008.

Rodriguez had won two the 2005 USA Boxing championship and the 2006 National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions when he turned pro in January 2008. Army picked his opponents carefully and shepherded him to an undefeated record and what was once a No. 2 world ranking; Rodriguez is now ranked No. 3 by the WBA and IBF, No. 4 by the WBC, and is widely considered to be on the verge of a world title shot.

“Larry obviously does a great job for his career — I don’t think that there’s any dispute about that, at least not coming from myself and Edwin,” Stephanie Rodriguez said. “He’s done an excellent job for his career, but there are some issues that need to be ironed out with respect to a contract.”

The Rodriguez camp denied Army’s claim that they already have settled on a new manager, Al Haymon, who is considered by many to be the most powerful man in boxing.

Haymon, who has managed Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Andre Berto among many others, has great influence with the cable networks and, according to Berto, “his fighters make a lot of money.”

Contact Bud Barth at hbarth@telegram.com.

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